"Three-on-three, no problem, right, dude?"
"No problem."
Akashi Asuka replied.
At a casual sports center like this, pickup games were informal, as long as each side had at least two players, the game could go on. But with just two or three players per side, individual skills had to be well-rounded.
Asuka's teammates were a middle-aged man and a dyed-hair college student. Neither were pros, just regular hobbyists.
The game started.
Asuka served with an overhand hit, sending the ball flying over the net. The three opponents quickly organized their first attack.
Bang!
The ball smashed past a single-block and headed straight for the ground.
At the critical moment, Asuka quickly shifted sideways and dug the ball up. The volleyball bounced high into the air, slightly off-target but still inbounds.
"Sorry, that was a bit off." Asuka apologized.
"No worries, no worries, good ball!" the dyed-hair college student said encouragingly. This wasn't just empty kindness, in these casual games, team members often varied wildly in skill. Sometimes they had to recruit people who barely played volleyball just to fill spots. Since Asuka looked young, the college student had been a bit worried at first, but now he was relieved to see Asuka actually knew the game.
"Come on! Dude, you're new here, so you get the honor of the first point." the college student said, setting a high ball in front of Asuka.
The opposing three quickly sent up two blockers.
This was a common limitation in "pickup court" volleyball. Everyone was a temporary team with no real chemistry or set plays, so no one attempted quick attacks. The game tested personal ability more than teamwork.
"Hey! You guys are way too harsh! It's his first game, can't you cut him some slack?" the college student complained, eyeing the tough defense.
"Haha… Giving your all on the court is the greatest respect you can show your opponent!" the two blockers, both over 1.8 meters tall, grinned widely.
The college student was speechless. He was about to retort when Asuka suddenly jumped high.
In just a flash,
The two blockers' eyes went from eye level to looking up in awe. Even at their highest jump, they could only just reach Asuka's chin.
At the same time, Asuka's calm voice echoed:
"You're right, seniors. Giving your all on the court is the greatest respect you can show your opponent."
Bang!
The volleyball blasted over their block and crashed to the ground behind, where the defense hadn't even reacted.
The court fell silent.
Everyone froze.
The two blockers glanced at each other, stunned.
After a few seconds,
the dyed-hair college student finally shouted, "Whoa! What was that? That jump was insane, that height's almost 340cm! Dude, what do you do?"
"No, no, my highest reach is just barely 337cm. I'm currently the main attacker on my school's volleyball team." Asuka said modestly.
Everyone on the court was speechless.
Junior Highers nowadays are seriously scary.
337cm reach? To put it simply: this guy has the makings of a professional.
Among the five others on the court, all older than Asuka, none could reach over 330cm, and very few even reached 320cm.
There were two main reasons:
First, none of them were professional players, and physical ability often peaks in high school rather than college, contrary to theory. Most people's athletic prime is actually earlier.
Second was talent. Jumping ability and speed are two of the most talent-dependent traits, something Asuka knew firsthand.
Before his jumping skill reached 75 points, his max reach was only about 331cm. But the moment he went from 74.9 to 75, his reach shot up 5cm in one leap.
That was a subtle yet fundamental change.
Without this boost from the system, Asuka would have needed to wait for further physical growth to jump higher, but by then he'd fall behind others.
One slow step means falling further behind.
That's the difference between most professional athletes and regular amateurs.
The group was momentarily speechless at Asuka's "modesty." then the dyed-hair college student suddenly burst out laughing, covering his mouth:
"Pfft! Haha, serve those two right! Always bullying the newbie, now they got what's coming!"
"Shut up!"
The two blockers clearly knew the college student and turned red with embarrassment and anger.
"Hahaha, that's hilarious. Come on, let's keep the game going. Dude, I'll toss you some easy balls, after all, 'giving your all is the greatest respect,' right?"
That last sentence was said in mockery of the blockers' earlier words, almost making them want to jump over and punch him.
Seriously, what kind of nonsense is that?
The group joked around a bit more.
The game resumed.
True to his word, the college student kept feeding Asuka good sets, and Asuka smashed the first few spikes with near unstoppable height.
But as the match went on, Asuka's attacks started facing more and more challenges.
The blockers and defenders couldn't match his jumping or agility, but volleyball isn't just about height.
They might not play formal games often, but years of "pickup court" battles gave them valuable experience facing all kinds of opponents.
Against Asuka's attacks,
the two blockers made just one key adjustment, and it drastically limited Asuka's spikes…
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